Orhon, 67, of Deacons Walk, Hampton, west London, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted murder and two of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The women – Suzanna Brand, 53, Janet Morsey, 63, Jean Sullivan, 68, and Charandasi Chandiramani, 71 – suffered ‘serious and appalling injuries’ in or near the Sainsbury’s car park in Hampton, west London, on May 20.

The ‘true bravery’ of two schoolboys – who distracted Orhon, warned others that he was armed and dangerous, called police and stayed on the telephone with the 999 operator during the rampage – potentially stopped further bloodshed, the jury was told.

A woman is helped after the incident outside a branch of Sainsbury’s (Picture: SWNS)

Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay read a statement from one of the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to the jury at Kingston Crown Court today.

He said: ‘A woman comes running across the carpark screaming. She was saying, “I have been stabbed”, or “have I been stabbed?” I can’t quite remember.

‘She was screaming her head off and I was not entirely sure if she was just a bit mad.’

The boy described watching the woman, Charandasi Chandiramanim, banging on a car door, asking the driver for help before being spotted by Orhon.

He said: ‘He was following her. But then he sees us, forgets about her, and we’re not sure about this guy.

A schoolboy has given a graphic account of what he saw (Picture: SWNS)

‘We didn’t feel too unsafe just yet. He comes across the road towards us. We thought, “this is just wrong”. He is still walking, and we just thought he was a bit wrong in the head.

‘He didn’t look right. He looked bat-shit fucking insane. Maybe he was off his meds or something.’

The boy said as the man approached he revealed the knife in his right hand. He said: ‘As he came towards us he was almost calm, but his eyes were just wrong.

‘He was making stabbing motions at us. I stumbled again. I’m not thinking clearly. At this point, he starts to come after me.

‘He didn’t have a specific target. He was just going after anyone he could get near to. The way he was moving was unbelievably scary.

‘He had a knife at this point, and we thought he had stabbed two people. But the police officer told me after that he stabbed four people.’

Orhon had been picked up the day before by police outside a public toilet in Kensington, central London, the court heard.

They had suspected he might have drugs but Orhon was found with a Leatherman knife, the jury was told. He was charged with having a bladed article and released on bail.

Orhon went back home, just 10 minutes from the Sainsbury’s, and picked up his spare Leatherman knife and went straight back out, the court heard.

He was wearing the same clothes from the day before and carrying a rucksack containing Turkish identification materials, a UK passport, 1,075 euros and £307.87 in cash, the jury was told.

The court heard Orhon later said in a police interview that he had felt ‘mentally tortured’ by police, adding: ‘I went home and got my other Leatherman. I shouldn’t have done it. I feel bad. It was a loss of control. I felt humiliated.’